Monday Odds and Ends As We Count Down the Minutes

By: Martha | August 20th, 2007

Hopin for some Serie B action. •In what is surely the biggest joke of the day, Roma’s Simone Perrotta is being suspended for this weekend’s season-opening match against Palermo. Why, you ask? Well, because he was sent off for saying something mean to the linesman in yesterday’s Super Cup match, before even entering the pitch. Sigh.

•Cicinho may or may not be about to end the drama of his will-he-or-won’t-he transfer saga and sign with Roma. Keep an eye on the Roma corner of The Offside for updates on that one.

•Less than 10 minutes into his first match for Manchester City, Valeri Bojinov damaged a knee and is expected to be out between three and five months. Jesus, what a nightmare.

•The Deco-to-Inter rumors have come back with a vengeance over the past few days, with the Italian side reportedly prepared to pay about £10 million for the Portuguese playmaker. They face new competition, though, from Newcastle United, who are allegedly offering Emre and an unspecified amount of cash in exchange; both teams are sitting around now, waiting for Barca to decide if they want to deal or keep Deco on their bench this season, just in case.

•Roberto Donadoni is already teasing the possible return of Antonio Cassano to the Italy side. Breathe, people. Breathe.

•Palermo’s Fabrizio Miccoli, meanwhile, is busy teasing his own awesomeness. Which, given his success during the preseason, is probably understandable.

•Vikash Dhorasoo hasn’t been dumped by Livorno after all! Woo hoo! Of course, since he seems to have come within a hair’s bredth of being thrown on the scrap-heap (again), he probably shouldn’t expect a whole lot of first-team action, but I suppose stranger things have happened.

•If the Italian press is to be believed, Stefano Fiore might have found an escape from his solitary training at Valencia: He’s reportedly about to join Serie B side Mantova. Since Mantova are looking for reinforcements to finally get them over the promotion hump this season and Fiore is trying to get his career back, this may well be a match made in heaven.

•Giampaolo Pazzini finally signed the extension he agreed to about a month ago; he’s now tied to Fiorentina through 2011.

Some Related Serie A Posts:

Category: Fiorentina, Inter, Roma, Rumors & News, Serie A

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Martha

Wow, with all these recommendations, I can't wait to watch the preview (and see who Bobo is starting in place of). It's in the Tivo, waiting for me.
Joe

fox soccer is only concerned about the EPL and MLS. at least to date. they give every other league the short shrift. that's all there is to it. too bad too because i really like a guy like bobby mcmahon but most of the others... man alive they're bad.
kevin

Fox Soccer needs to get their act together.. Their Serie A preview on their website was HORRIBLE. For a network that will carry Serie A, I couldn't have expected less.
Francesco

I like how they misspelled almost every name in every starting XI.
chris

Oh, and they have Bobo in Fiorentina's starting 11, as well as saying he is the top goal scorer, then putting (2003) in small print. Good stuff.
chris

Marth, 11pm EST on FSC.

Are you going to be making a point of using indignation now?
Martha

If I can't be a teenage fangirl in my photo filenames, it might start seeping into other aspects of my life. It's a question of choosing the lesser of two evils.

And I missed the show, dammit. Hopefully it'll air again -- as you know, I do like a good excuse for indigation.
chris

Is anybody else watching this bullshit Serie A preview on Fox Soccer? Did they just get together and decide, "alright, we could do some research and get the right info, but let's just make shit up"?

Though it does get an overall A+ from me just for calling Mexes the best defender in Serie A.
Francesco

I'm not saying Fiore is God, it's just that skillful players are hard to come by in Serie B and he would hugely increase Mantova's chances of promotion. Plus, I think Chris' anti-Lazio sentiment is caving in. ;)
chris

This isn't a Fiore-specific argument. There is a pattern of teenaged fangirlness here.
Martha

Marco, would you please tell him that Fiore is an undeniably handsome man, even if he was left out of the Great Hair Debate? It's nothing to do with hormones, I'm simply stating fact.
Francesco

If Fiore does in fact join Mantova, they will have jumped ahead to become a big promotion contender. Corona and Godeas with Fiore behind should be a strong trio in Serie B, along with some other solid players. Fiore in Serie A is an above average attacking midfielder on the decline. Fiore in Serie B is a world class attacking midfielder.
Marco

Wow... you two are just so cute when you fight...
chris

Hey, it's not like I ask to read them or seek them out. Sometimes they just pop up. And since when is this my problem? You're the one that needs to keep your hormones in check, missy.
Martha

Replace Figo? Please. Not possible. (And you really do need to stop reading my image names. Or maybe I just need to stop revealing things in them.)
kevin

i think all roma fans will be a fan of miccoli after next sunday
chris

I love your little google translations. I'm pretty sure I'd understand it better even if I didn't know any Italian and you just left it as is. Some of those translations make absolutely no sense whatsoever.

And who's going to replace Figo as recipient of your #1 greasy looking crush once he retires? I think it's going to be Miccolli.

Maybe even Fiore....mmmmmmmm :)